Power-transmission device.



' J. E. BISSELL. I POWER TRANSMISSION DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED NOV, 14, 1910;

007,518, I Patented Oct. 31.1911

/ r Q Z. l. f I 1i I g 3 JOSEEH E. BISSELL, 9F PITTSBURQIH, PENNSYLVANIA.

POWER-TRANSMISSION DEVICE.

' Specification-of Letters latent.

Patented Oct. 31, 1911.

- Application aia November, 14, 1910. Serial No. 592,261.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH E. Bissau; residing at Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, a citi- 'zen of the United States, have invented or the speed of the driven member shall not check to like degree the speed of the driving member. For example, if an automobile whose driving wheels are connected to the engine by unyielding gearing, after travel ing over a smooth and level road, startsup the slope of a hill, or runs into'a piece of heavy road, the increased resistance to the revolution of the drive wheels may so far out down the speed that the engine will stop.

My invention is directed to a cushioned transmission device, to take the place of the rigid transmission device commonly employed, primarily to the endthat in such an incident as I have above stated'the diminution in speed of the vehicle'vvill not have the effect to cut down, in like degree, the speed of the drive member. Consequently, such an increased load as would ordinaril effect the stopping of the engine, if the direct valve were employed, will not necessarily efi'ect the stopping of the engineif this yielding device e employed; but, within much wider limits, the engine will con-' tinue to operate to overcome a varying resistance. Furthermore, within permissible limits, the automobile will continue to travel,

at reduced speed.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate my invention, Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through a'powe'r shaft and a transmission device applied thereto, and throughv a driven member which is driven thereby; Fig. 2 is a transverse section on a plane indicated by line IIII, Fig. 1; Fig. 3 isa transverse section on a plane indicated by the line IIIIII, Fig. 1.

Referring to these drawings, 1 is the power shaft, and 4 is the driven shaft, shown here in elevation. The power transmission device. consists of a cylinder, -7; 9, carried by one ofthese two members, and a drum, 2, carried by the other one of these two members, the drum being of smaller diameter "than the interior diameter of the cylinder, the two members beingassembled with the drum within the cylinder. Means are provided to change the relative positions of these two members, so that the drum may be concentrically or ecc'entrically disposed relatively to the cylinder and-the degree of eccentricity varied. The intervening space is filled with a non-compressibleliquid,

It will be understood, "of 1 preferably oil. course, that the cylinder chamber is completely inclosed, and that the oil fills'the space completel An arm or blade 3 extends radially rom the d um, and is held in extended position yieldingly by a spring 5, so that, whatever be the distance of the drum from the interior wall of the cylinder,

the radial arm will always bearagainst the cylinder wall. It will be understood that when these members are in eccentric relative positions, if either be driven, power will be transmitted to the other through the interposed body of oil. i Y

In the embodiment shown in'the drawings, the power shaft 1 carries the drum 2, and the driven shaft 4 carries the cylinder 7,

which cylinder 7 is closed by the cap 9. The

cylinder is in this instance partially d ded by a partition Wall 10 to form, in eh xt, a double cylinder, and within each cylinder portion is a drum member, and each portion of this double drum is provided with an arm '3, 3*, extending radially from the drum to the cylinder wall. These radial arms 3, 3? are placed in diametrically opposite positions, and are held in extended positionby the spring 5 inserted between them. "This arrangement of a double cylinder and diametrically opposed arms is adopted merely for the sake-0f balancing the transmission device and making'it run smoothly. As particularly shown in Fig. 2, the drum may be eccentric in its position with respect to the containing cylinder. When the drum so positioned is rotated on its axis, carrying with v bearing for the shaft 1. longitudinally slotted, and the block is it, in its rotation, the radial arms 3 and 3, power will be transmitted through the body of oil which fills the space between the drum and the cylinder, to eifect a rotation of the cylinder upon its somewhat eccentric axis. Now,-it will be at once apparent that, because of the fact that the driving part and the driven part communicate with one another through the fluid, a sudden increase of resistance, made effective to diminish the speed of rotation of the driven shaft, will not necessarily overload the power shaft 1, with the danger of stopping the engine entirely, but that the fluid body through which the power is transmitted will allow the driven part to travel at a diminished speed relative to the power shaft, or rather it will allow the power shaft to continue to travel at a speed, which, while no doubt diminished, will nevertheless be, so far as concerns the driven member, at a relatively greater velocity. It follows from this that the possibilities of keeping the engine at or near its maximum eiiiciency under varying conditions of service is very materially increased, when contrasted with the possibilities of the usual rigid drive wheel. My invention further consists in so [mounting these two parts that they may be moved relatively to one another; that is, the extent of the eccentricity of one to the other may be varied to meet practical conditions. I consider this adjustability of the eccentricity advantageous to adapt my transmission device in service to starting and stop ping and to meet varying conditions of load. It will be understood that, in order to make possible this adjustment in relative eccentricity, there must be two universal joints in the line of connection through the power and driven shafts. I have in Fig. 1 shown one such universal joint at 8. This joint will be duplicated either in the drive or driven shaft, and further illustration is unneccssary.

The sectional view of Fig. 3, taken in connection with Fig. 1, shows in detail how mutant-nar of the cylinder and drum, with. respect to one another, may be varied. In thisligure it will be seen that the cylinder 7, 9, is provided with a sleeve-like extension lS, which" is ecccntrically placed upon it, 'and. surrounds the shaft 1. Within this slccvcslike extension 18 is an eccentric block 6, rotatable within the sleeve, and ait'ording The sleeve 18 is provided. externally with a spiral groove. A collar ll, movable longitudinally upon sleeve 18, is provided with a pin or lug which extends t-l'irough the longitudinal slot in the sleeve 18, and into the spiral groove in the block 6; It will be understood that, as the collar l l-is movcd longitudinally upon the sleeve 18, the block 6 will be turned, and the eccentricity of the shaft 1, with respect to shaft 4, will be correspondingly varied. The

collar 4 may, for convenience in operation, be surrounded with a collar 11, provided with a handle 12. It will of course be evident that the number of grooves, slots and pins for the turning .of the block (5 may be varied as desired. Fig. 3 shows two such sets of coacting parts.

I claim herein as my invention:

1. A transmission device for machinery which consists in the combination of a power shaft and a driven shaft mounted for eccentric adjustment with respect to one another, one of the said members carrying a cylinder and the other member carrying a drum, the said drum being inclosed within said cylinder and being of smaller diameter than the internal diameter of the cylinder, and the space surrounding said drum within said cylinder being filled with a fluid, and said drum being provided with a radially extending arm, substantially as described.

2. A power tral'lsmission device, consisting in the combination of a power shaft and a driven shaft, one of said members being provided with a cylinder and the other of said members-being provided with a drum of less diameter than the internal diameter of the said cylinder and arranged within said cylinder, said drum being further provided with an extensible radial arm, the said drum and the said cylinder being mounted for cccentric adjustmcnt with respect to one another, and means for varying the eccentricity of the drum and cylinder with to one another, substantially as described.

A transmission device for machinery, which consists in a combination of a power shaft and a driven shaft mounted for eccentric adjustment with respect to one another, one of said members carrying a cylinder and the other of. said members carrying a drum, the said drum being inclosed within the said cylinder and being of smaller di ameter than the internal diameter of the said cylinder, the chamber of the said cylindcr being dividedmto two cylindrical spaces, and the said drum being correspondingly divided into two drum parts, each of said driven shaft and an interposed transmission mechanism, means for changing the relative eccentricity of the'two shafts, said means consisting of a cylindrical eccentric block and provided with a longitudinal- 1612, and

- bushin throug the s carried on one of said 's'haftsaind provided g aging the grodve of thesaid, eccentric with a. spirally-extending .grqo've, a. bushing block, substantially as described.

10 within which the said bloclgturns eqqentrif In testimony whereof, I. have hereuntq'set' 1 cally sustained by tha other of the shafts my hand.

' JOSEPH E; BISSELL.

{moyided with a. lug eg ztending, Amen A. Tm, at in the said bushing'fund e1}: F zA'NpIs J. Tomsox.

a member longitudinally'movable lipon said Witnesses: 

